The Secret Life of Lobsters

lobster claw, originally uploaded by Simon Goldenberg.

I recently finished The Secret Life of Lobsters by Trevor Corson. This book has lots of fun facts about my favorite crustacean. For example, male lobsters are big bullies who march around the ocean floor terrorizing their counterparts. If they were human, we might describe them as the type that are always “up in your face.” In fact, dominant male lobsters are so aggressive that when it comes time to mate the female lobster pees in his face to help sedate his violent tendencies. Then they have sex, the female discards her shell, and serves it to the male as a post-coital snack. Gross! In addition to describing the bawdy details of lobster sex, this book provides an interesting account of Maine’s struggle to manage the lobster industry (lobster men versus scientist), including the challenges in measuring and forecasting the ocean’s supply of lobsters. It sounds odd to describe this book as a page-turner, but I could not put it down.